BEVERLY — Julia Perry, 13, of Beverly has been involved in theater productions with the YMCA of the North Shore for several years. But it wasn't until she tried improvisational theater a year and a half ago that she found out it was what she loved the most.
"It is the freedom to take over and let this imaginary character be whatever your mind comes up with," Perry said. "It's not having to worry about saying the right thing."
Now young people like Perry will have the opportunity to learn more about improvisational theater, commonly known as improv. From Feb. 20 through 24, the Oddfellows Improv Company will hold an Improv Intensive at the Salem YMCA for children and teens in grade six and up. The cost is $75 for YMCA members and $93 for the community. The workshop will run each evening that week from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Alec Lewis, 23, of Beverly started the North Shore-based Oddfellows Improv Company with friends Ben Drake, 23, of Beverly; Zach Reynolds, 24, of Beverly; Jon Ramey, 23, of Beverly; Tyrel Borowitz, 21, of Gloucester; and Andrew Lamb, 25, of Portland, Maine. The group has been doing improv since college. After taking a road trip to perform in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee in the spring of 2010 and performing in several shows together last summer, they decided to start their own company.
Lewis approached Kimberly LaCroix, 25, performing arts director at the YMCA of the North Shore, with the idea for the workshop. LaCroix — who's in her third year as director — was quick to agree.
"There's not much available for teens locally in improv," she said.
Improv is typically comedic and involves actors performing spontaneously in response to cues from fellow actors or the audience. A popular improv game is Freeze, in which performers begin a scene where at any point actors not on the stage can yell "freeze." Those performers then take the exact pose of the replaced actor, and a new scene begins.
Lewis said that Oddfellows' mission is to teach people to have fun with improv games like this and to connect the performance aspect with the opportunity to improve social skills and confidence.
"Improv is really working those social muscles," Lewis said. "Being able to adapt and think on your feet allows you to be more confident in social situations."
During the weeklong workshop, Oddfellows will teach improv games, provide feedback and talk about the benefits of such skills. The week will end with a public performance by students scheduled for Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Salem YMCA.
The workshop is sponsored in part through a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a funding organization that allocates money from the state for arts and culture in Beverly. Lewis submitted a $1,000 proposal to the BCC in October 2011 to bring Oddfellows' mission to the area. Gail Eaton, 65, chairwoman of the BCC, said approximately 20 grants are awarded annually, and Oddfellows received a $500 grant. Eaton said the BBC fell in love with Oddfellows' proposal.
"Their idea was unusual," she said. "I'd love people to realize this kind of thing is art and a very valid art form."
But it's more than art, said Kelley Challen, program director at the Spotlight Program in Danvers, who believes that the social benefits of improv are evident. Spotlight — which has also worked with Lewis — helps students with an array of social skills, including youths with Asperger's syndrome, autism and other social diagnoses. Traditional improv and theater games are used to enhance social confidence because the skills used in those games are the same as social competency skills like eye contact.
"Helping kids to have fun in a group setting is very important," Challen said. "Improv is a lot of fun, and if kids are having fun doing it, then they're likely to want to do it (use those social skills) again."
Lewis said his group hopes to offer an April intensive program, as well as a summer program, in Beverly with the goal not only of teaching the technical elements of improv, but also to address insecurities and confidence issues in youths.
"We've experienced personal and social growth in theater, and we want to share that," Lewis said. "In improv, you let insecurities go and are totally free to be who you are. We'd like to help others experience that."
Julia Perry plans to attend the intensive and has already learned lessons from improv that Oddfellows wants to develop further.
"If anyone said something mean to me, I can have a quick comeback," she said. "That's especially good to have in middle school."
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